Sunday, June 23, 2013

Are The Afghan Peace Talks Dead?

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) speaks during the London 11 countries ''Friends of Syria'' meeting in Doha June 22, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous

Kerry Presses Taliban To Revive Afghan Peace Bid -- Reuters

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry put the onus on the Taliban to revive stalled efforts to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war and warned the militants on Saturday they might lose their new office in Qatar if the peace bid collapsed.

U.S. officials were due to hold preliminary discussions with the Taliban in Qatar last Thursday - but they were called off after the Afghan government objected to the fanfare surrounding the militants' opening of an office in the Gulf state.

"We need to see if we can get back on track ... I don't know whether that's possible or not," Kerry told a news conference in Qatar.

"If there is not a decision ... to move forward by the Taliban in short order, then we may have to consider whether or not the office has to be closed."

Read more ....

Update: U.S.-Taliban peace talks stalled, hope fading -- CBS

My Comment: These talks are going nowhere fast.

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